Improvement



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIoE JOHN F. MORSE, oF OSHKOSH, WIsoONsIN.

IMPROVEMENT IN DREDGERS;

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l42,577, datedSeptember 9, 1873; application filed February 24, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. MORSE, of the city of Oshkosh, Wisconsin,have invented a new and useful apparatus for the removal of sand-bars oralluvial deposits on the bottom of rivers; and I hereby declare thefollowing to be a full and exact description of the same, referencebeing had to the annexed drawings, forming a part of this specification,in which Figure 1 is a plan view, showing the forward part of the boator vessel and the wheels used for the removal of sand-bars. Fig. 2 is anend view of the same parts.

The object of my invention is to provide a more efficient apparatus forthe removal of sand-bars than those heretofore used; and. to this endthe invention consists in the construction of a boat and the arrangementof the wheels, as hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, A is the vessel, to which the wheels forthe removal of obstructions (of the nature heretofore men: tioned) areattached, and in which is to be located the machinery for driving thesame.

' The bow of the boat is the reverse of those by either stern or sidewheels in addition to the wheels at the bow; B B are shafts, which maybe driven by engines (located crosswise of the vessel) connecting withcranks on the shafts or by gear in any of the methods of producingrotary motion. Two other shafts are represented, but are not consideredindispensable. Shafts B B, instead of being parallel, as represented,might diverge from the bow, and thus produce the same effect as the fourwill as now arranged. O G 0 0 are wheels of the style 'known asi lpropeller-wheels, and may (for the purposes" of this vessel) beconstructed by attaching flukes to a hub, as represented, or in onepiece, as is common with wheels used for propulsion only. 7

I do not wish to confine myself to the use of four wheels, as shown inthe drawings, for the reason that a vessel with the wheels located atthe bow, as shown, is sufficient to make a channel wide enough for thepassage of vessels of medium size, while in order to make a channelsufficient for the larger class of vessels navigating rivers the otheradditional wheels will be necessary.

The operation of effecting a channel through sand-bars will be asfollows: As the vessel approaches a sand-bar the wheels will be put inrapid motion, revolving so as to produce a current toward the vessel,the e'ifect of which will be to loosen the sand in front of the wheelsand carry it back with the current of water outside of the vessel. Asthe sand is removed the vessel moves forward until a passage through thesand-bar is effected.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

The dred gin g-vessel A, formed with upward receding concave bows, incombination with two or more propeller-blade wheels adapted to bemechanically rotated, as described, for the purpose of removingsand-bars, substantially a's'specified.

. JOHN F. MORSE.

Witnesses:

R. H. BoYNToN, WM. H. JARVIS.

